F1 team boss Frank Williams out of hospital

Reuters

Reuters

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GROVE, England (Reuters) - Formula One team boss and majority shareholder Frank Williams has left hospital after recovering from pneumonia, his daughter and deputy principal Claire Williams said on Thursday.

The 74-year-old, whose team won seven drivers titles and nine constructors' championships between 1980 and 1997, has been tetraplegic and in a wheelchair since a car accident in France in 1986.

"I'm very pleased and happy to say that he is now back home, back at the factory with us. He came out of hospital on Monday," Claire Williams told reporters after announcing the team's 2017 driver lineup of Finland's Valtteri Bottas and Canadian teenager Lance Stroll.

"He contracted pneumonia after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and has been in hospital since the start of September. It was a slow recovery but...he's pretty much back to the old Frank we know and love."

Williams founded the team in 1977 with Patrick Head and has said he has no plans to retire, keeping a close eye on sponsorship and business dealings. Williams Grand Prix Holdings are listed on the Entry Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.